The procurement process for the £1.5 billion Kingsnorth power station rebuild is not expected to progress this year, according to Kier director Paul Sheffield.

Kier, one of six contractors and consortia in talks with client E.On over the project, is not expecting to find out much more about the job before Christmas.

Client E.On has refused to give a timetable for the project, and is waiting to see how its carbon capture and storage infrastructure will be funded.

Mr Sheffield said: “We are not expecting anything to happen on Kingsnorth this year, as E.On is still waiting for its section 36 [planning permission]. There is still the possibility it could all fall through.”

Energy secretary Ed Miliband has committed to helping fund up to four coal-fired power station CCS schemes. But energy firms must wait for the forthcoming coal consultation to close before any designs will be approved.

Laing O’Rourke, Morgan Est, Balfour Beatty and Bam Nuttall are also all in talks with E.On over the Kingsnorth job, as is a Costain/Hochtief joint venture.

Energy companies will lobby the government for a get-out clause from the deadline to fully fit carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to new coal plants by 2025 because they are worried it might not work in time.

Companies, including German-owned groups E.ON and RWE npower, want guarantees that they will not be forced to close their coal-fired plants in 2025 if the technology has not been proven by then.

So this is the next battle that has to be won before the uk can officailly claim to be beyond coal.

Browse the categories!

The category option lets you see all the latest news on what Ed Miliband has said, what EON has said in various parliamentary commitees, how industry is looking at the prospect of new coal...etc., etc.,
Use the categories they are what this site is all about!